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Letter from the Editor

Oh, what a year it has been—and I can hardly believe it’s over. Running The Eye has been simultaneously the most challenging and most rewarding experience of my time at college. I have lived and breathed this magazine; it has constantly occupied my thoughts, and has given me both my most difficult and happiest experiences of the year.

In 2013 it felt important to be both a Columbia student and a New Yorker. As a participant in that conversation, The Eye has brought you countless pieces that asked you to listen, to be critical, to consider others’ perspectives. We told stories and conducted investigations; we made you angry and we made you smile. We uncovered issues with Columbia’s socioeconomic diversity, and the divide between Columbia’s athletes and the rest of the student body. We asked you to examine the lines of communication between administrators and students, the attitude towards mental health among computer science students, and Barnard’s financial situation. This is only a small sample of the stories that felt important—I hope that The Eye made you feel like a part of something greater than your personal Columbia.

I want to thank everyone who has written, edited, designed, illustrated, and photographed for The Eye over the past year. Your contributions were not only important, but essential; your incredible talent has made The Eye more than just the sum of its parts. Working collaboratively, we have produced 23 gorgeous magazines. That’s 368 pages of writing and art that have enriched the lives of our peers and professors.

To The Eye’s future editors, whoever you may be: People are skeptical about the future of print magazines all over the media industry, and on this campus as well. This magazine’s relevance—both at Columbia and beyond—is inherently tied to its quality, and maintaining that quality is an important challenge you face. There would be no greater privilege than to be one-upped by you.

And to Columbia: Although it may not seem this way right now, this issue of The Eye isn’t the end of anything at all. The Eye will have a voice at Columbia as long as important things are happening here. Keep on reading.